


The Silver Stag

by SAYS



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-11 07:06:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16471040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SAYS/pseuds/SAYS
Summary: For Marissa





	The Silver Stag

The Silver Stag

Part 1. 

They stepped into the crisp October afternoon, and Albus could finally look around. His mouth fell open in awe. This was his first time in Hogsmeade ever since he could remember, and he’s never visited during Halloween. It was glorious. The day was cold but filled with sunshine. Very few leaves were left hanging limp onto the branches, being whipped by the wind. The ground, however, seemed to be a sea of rustling colours. 

He held onto Ginny’s hand, holding the hem of his ghost costume up with the other one. Lily Lua dressed as a Quidditch player, wearing their mum’s shrunken, robes tried to keep up on Ginny’s other side. James Sirius was trotting in front of them, dressed as Frankenstein, a very real looking pair of bolts sticking out of his neck, still sending a wave of unpleasant shivers down Albus’ spine. The only person who was missing was his father, Harry Potter.

“Why does dad never take us trick or treating?” Albus asked, a hint of a whine in his voice. 

“Halloween is a special time for dad, sweetheart,” Ginny said, giving his hand a squeeze and a reassuring smile.

“His parents died on Halloween, so he just gets majorly depressed every year,” James said, giving Albus a look full of pompous knowing. 

Ginny, however, smacked him on the shoulder. “James!” 

“What? It’s true. Isn’t it true, mum? Do you want me to lie to him, mum?” he asked pointedly. Ginny tried to stare him down, fuming, but James didn’t blink or lower his gaze. She crossed her arms, which James imitated immediately. As she opened her mouth to say something, he cut in, “Isn’t adults keeping secrets from children to ‘protect them’ really a manipulation?” he asked, signing the quotation marks in the air with his fingers.

“James, that’s enough...”

“Hasn’t Albus Dumbledore done the same thing to dad, didn’t you say so?”

Ginny racked her brains, trying to recall when she had said it, and more importantly, how had James Sirius managed to overhear it. “Yes,” she said slowly, “I might have.” 

“Well there you have it, Al.” James looked back at his younger brother, the tone of his voice dropping from defiant to soft. “Dad just wants to be alone, to grieve. See you.”

Ginny stared after James who joined a group of friend near Honeydukes. Frowning in his direction, she internally slapped herself for bestowing her oldest and sassiest with the gene of brutal honesty she once wielded so proudly. Maybe it was time to get used to and prepared for her children weaponizing inherited traits against her and Harry. 

She looked back at Al, who seemed to be pondering all this in his mind and pulled him into a hug. Lily Luna joined in, only vaguely aware of what was happening. 

“Your dad is fine, don’t worry. But James is right, he does need to spend some time alone today.” 

Albus nodded quietly and followed Ginny toward the first house on the street. Concepts like grieving or wanting to be alone didn’t make much sense to him yet and so soon her forgot all about it, still missing his dad all the same. 

Some miles away, Harry James Potter was wandering the castle grounds, having had visited Albus Dumbledore’s tomb. Halloween was a strange time for him. He couldn’t understand the power it still had over him these recent years. It never had, in the past. Halloween was just that...a tradition, fun times to be had with friends. Although, to be perfectly honest, Harry Potter’s Halloween’s had a tendency to turn sour instead of candy sweet most years. There was the Troll, the what he had believed was an escaped convict out to kill him, his name being pulled out of the Goblet, and many other things. 

But the Halloween that haunted him still was the one he could hardly remember. Almost not at all since Voldemort had died all those years ago. But recently, as he began to age, slowly but surely becoming aware of a new sort of mortality, every Halloween those memories came flooding back. Or the lack of them when it came to people he had lost that day. 

For most of the year, he had been a happy man, but this one day, he couldn’t help himself from being dragged back into a non-existent past, one where he could talk to them and see them again. 

Harry suddenly stopped and realized he was standing near the Forbidden Forest. The castle was glinting in the distance against the darkening sky, and a sweet scent of hot chocolate and roast vegetables was coming from the direction of Hagrid’s cabin. His family must all be there, he thought, waiting for him to join them. 

With a smile finally settling over his lips, Harry turned to walk to them, but then a faint glimmer caught his eye. Something pearly white and soft, in between the trees of the strangely quiet Wood. Harry glanced back at the castle and the smoke he could see over the hill wafting from Hagrid’s chimney. His heart was beating wildly in his chest. He felt like he should turn and go back, an unsettling feeling clutching at his insides, but it was as if he almost couldn’t move. 

But then he thought of Lily Luna, small and cute in Ginny’s old Quidditch robes. And Albus with his shining green eyes, searching all the rooms for the sight of Harry. He thought of warmth and laughter that must be now present in Hagrid’s hut, and that pull of family tugged at him stronger than anything else could in that moment. 

He headed towards the cabin, but couldn’t help looking over his shoulder one last time. He saw nothing. 

As he was walking away, a white shape stood close to the forest’s edge, staring out from within. A creature on four legs, hungrily eyeing Harry’s figure disappearing behind the hill. This time the pull of his life was greater, but the creature knew, somewhere deep within its almost unreal form, that he would be back. And it would wait. 

Part 2.

BANG!

Scorpius Malfoy and Albus Potter stared at each other wildly, their hands clasped over their ears, soot covering their faces. A sudden coldness washed over them, one that you shouldn’t feel when inside a building. That’s when Scorpius looked up slowly and found himself face to face with a sky full of glittering stars instead of a roof. 

“Oh no,” he whispered, “Oh no, oh no, oh no.”

Albus followed suit, his face suspended between a horrified expression and laughter. 

A giant orange pumpkin head glowered above them, grinning into a grin, a worm rolling out of its mouth. 

On the floor beneath him, a group of students cheered so loud they were worried even the floor they were standing upon would soon give way. It was Halloween at Hogwarts, and for the first time ever, the parties didn’t take place in separate common rooms, but an illegal Haunted House party was happening inside the very famous Shrieking Shack. 

It was concealed by a handful of charms on the outside, so the villagers and passer-bys couldn’t hear the loud music and see the glimmering decorative lights that illuminated the insides of the house. Now without the roof, bats fluttered off into the night that were well hidden in the last undisturbed crooks and crevices of the building. The webs were drifting in the wind, getting lost in the glare of the giant jack o’ lantern the two boys have produced. 

“We really did it.”

“I have to say...” Scorpius said, bringing his hands down from his face and getting up so abruptly his head began to swim. “I wasn’t aware we were supposed to blow the roof off!” 

“It was always a possibility,” Albus said as a matter of factly, dusting the dirt from his robes. 

Crowds of students were running outside of the Shack to get a better look, their costumes trailing behind them in the dirt.

They could already hear the sounds of Apparition from outside that sent the crowd into momentary panic.

“We are really going to get it this time,” Scorpius said with dismay, digging through the rubble to find his half-melted cauldron and equipment. The commotion of laughing and escaping students faded away as they started descending the stairs covered with a few scattered bricks. 

“Hahaa, yes, but look!” Al said with glee, pointing to the gloriously grotesque jack o’ lantern in the sky. “The prize for best Halloween decoration and prank all in one is definitely ours this year.”

“You are such an idiot,” muttered Scorpius, “I can’t believe I let myself be dragged into these situations. My father’s going to kill me.” Despite his dismayed tone of voice, however, Al found him smiling. 

“Hey, you said you would only go out for a killer date, not a regular date, so I had to deliver,” Al said quickly, staring back at Scorpius boldly, though a sharp redness spread across his cheeks. 

“So this really was a date, huh?” Scorpius asked, his voice soft. 

“Well if I can offer a bit of advice,” Scorpius said, as they were making their way down the messy staircase. Outside they could already hear the mingle of amusement as well as the angry voices that beheld the destruction of the house. “You seem a bit too determined to beat your brother in the prank department, like every year. Somehow, his pranks get applause while yours just backfire. Like, we just damaged someone’s property. We probably could’ve gotten real hurt. We might get expelled! Maybe it’s time you find some other pursuits to be good at. Merlin knows there’s plenty of possibilities since you’re brilliant.”

Albus went red even around the ears now, as Scorpius said it. He wasn’t sure whether that was from the compliment or from the way Scorpius looked at him, soft but piercing all the same. 

“Ugh, besides,” Scorpius went on, rolling his eyes, “I can’t just let you go off on your own into these things, you need constant supervision.”

“Excuse me?”

“You try so hard to be a prankster, you will give yourself an injury one of these days. You should just sit tight in a library and let the other children play with fireworks and charms. But alas, until the day you learn, I will be there to have your back.”

Scorpius was speaking with a joking tone, but something in his words rang true for Albus. He realized that this boy had been with him through thick and thin for the last six years. Just silently by his side, complaining only slightly, but never caring too much for getting into trouble and the like, so as long as Al was okay. 

Albus suddenly felt the need to look anywhere else but at Scorpius. The blonde boy walked toward Albus, stepping over bits and pieces of the caved in roof and reached out a hand to touch Al’s cheek. 

“But also, killer date indeed,” he whispered, and kissed Albus soft on the lips, shivering in the process. The pumpkin in the sky smiled gleefully down at them, and reflected in their eyes as they looked at each other in a new way for the first time. 

Moments later, Albus was sitting in front of McGonagall’s office, hearing her rave to his father about the thoughtless and the disrespectful...and the disregard for history, but despite specks of guilt and worries about getting into real trouble, he just couldn’t stop smiling. 

His father suddenly walked out, looking at Albus. Instinctively he smiled, but then his smile shifted into an unnatural frown. 

“Let’s walk, Al.”

They were out on the grounds, strolling further away from the warmth and shine of the Hogwarts castle. Burnt firewood and winter was in the air, and Albus had to huddle deeper into his robes. 

“It was just a pumpkin, dad,” Albus said quietly, “we didn’t mean anything by it.”

“A giant head illuminating the sky with something slithering between its teeth? It’s pretty clear what that was a reference to...” Harry said expressionlessly. 

“But no, it wasn’t the Dark Mark, this is...you may call it the Orange Mark, or the Halloween Mark. We just wanted to make something funny.”

“Al, it’s fine,” Harry said, grinning at him.

“What? It is?”

“Well, the damage to the Shrieking Shack isn’t, it’s been there for so many years. Professor McGonagall informed me you are to serve a month’s detention cleaning it up. About the mark...” Harry’s voice trailed off, followed by a sigh. “I think it’s okay to deal with those things with a bit of humour sometimes. But next time, just think about the people who might be affected. Also, mockery is not always a very good sense of humour.” 

“I’m sorry, dad,” Al said, and he meant it, but a voice inside of him still whispered that it was worth it, for Scorpius. 

“I believe you,” Harry said, pulling Al into a hug. Only then did Albus notice that his father’s robes were drenched. He took a step back and looked at him. The hem of his trousers was torn and muddy, and there was a scratch on his neck that Al hadn’t noticed before. Most conspicuous of all, Albus spotted the hem of his father Invisibility Cloak sticking from his pocket. 

“Are you alright, dad? Did you hike here?” 

Harry seemed to be fighting with something inside, as if torn between wanting to tell Scorpius or not. It’s been a while since they had a real and honest conversation. Harry had felt like his kids were drifting from him more and more in recent years. Perhaps because he never truly experienced having parents, he wasn’t quite ready for the distance adult life would bring between him and his own children. 

He suddenly wanted to reach out to Albus, even if he was worried that his thoughts would worry the boy. 

“I was in the Forest, actually.”

“The Forbidden Forest you mean? Why?”

Harry’s eyes glazed over a bit, like he was elsewhere for a split second. 

“I was searching for the Stag.” Albus didn’t understand, but he felt he should stay silent and let his father speak. “I was taking a walk a couple of years ago, on Halloween. And then I saw something, beautiful and blinding. I thought it was a unicorn at first, but as it turned I noticed it was a stag.”

“Like your Patronus.” 

“Yes. You know, I’ve seen this stag before, it involved a couple of jumps through time, lots of chaos involving a hippogriff and a dog and a werewolf, meaning your uncle Remus and Sirius taking their boyhood adventures to a whole new level. Somewhere in the middle of it all, I saw myself creating a stag Patronus, which I thought was someone else’s until later on it hit me it was actually me.” 

Albus knitted his eyebrows. Of all the crazy stuff his father had been through, the tale of his third year was still the hardest for Albus to grasp. 

“But this time, it wasn’t anything like that, because I wasn’t stuck in a time loop anymore, and the deer was much more corporeal than a Patronus. I know, as I’ve seen quite enough of them in one lifetime. So this stag had to be real.”

“And you went looking for it?” 

“That first time, yes, only out of curiosity. Then it was gone, the years went by quicker, you all went to school and there was enough to deal with. But now you guys are almost all grown up, it’s never been more peaceful in the Wizarding World, and I think the times for heroes are gone past.” 

Harry was staring off into the distance again, and Albus felt frightened. The wind picked up and whipped their robes about them. He wanted tor each out and grab his father’s hand, if only to stop him from being swept away. 

“I got here tonight because I was curious, I wanted to know if it was still around. My father’s stag...”

“Dad, it can’t be your father’s stag, it just cannot.”

Harry looked at him, tears in his eyes, his voice shaky. “I know that. But I saw it. The same. That’s why I think I’m going crazy, Al.” 

Al didn’t know what to say. A part of him wanted to take Harry and go with him to the forest to prove to him there was no such thing there as a ghost stag, patronus or otherwise. The look in Harry’s eyes really alarmed him. His father had always been the image of strength, a rock you could lean on, a man with joy and intelligence in his face. Seeing him so desolate and vulnerable made Al almost resentful, and quite scared himself. 

As he looked at the towering trees, swaying ominously in the wind, he suddenly wondered...what if the stag was there for real? What then? 

“I think we should go inside now, dad,” Al whispered, offering his father a reassuring smile. Harry gazed at him a little confused for a second, and then he shook his head, blinking his eyes rapidly. 

“Yeah, I think you’re right. I’m sorry for worrying you, son.” 

Part 3. - The Hunt

"Hey."

Albus turned around. Scorpius Malfoy was standing there, dressed in a Dracula costume. His pale complexion was paler than usual, with the help of a powder. He wore prosthetic sharp teeth, but he took those out straight away as he felt Al scrutinizing him. It’s been years since they had seen each other, Albus thought, and his first impulse was to laugh joyously at this sight, but the laughter died inside him before it even reached his throat. 

It was Halloween again, and Albus must’ve had foolishly called Scorpius away from a party. "Hey. I really didn't expect to see you." 

"You owled me, so I’m here, why wouldn’t I be?”

An uncomfortable silence followed, as Albus passed furtive glances toward Scorpius. Scorpius sighed and ran a hand through his long blonde hair. The dark make-up circles under his eyes were becoming more and more pronounced in the falling night.

“Al, just because things between us...are over...it doesn’t mean I wouldn’t want to be there for you when you need me.”

Albus spun his head around, staring at Scorpious with a defiant wrinkle in the middle of his forehead. Was it sadness or anger staring back out at him from those green eyes? Scorpius couldn't tell. As much as he thought he knew Albus, sometimes he really couldn't tell. The boy, now man, of endless enigmas. 

"You didn't have to bother. I guess I wasn’t thinking when I sent the owl."

"Don't be a prat, Al, I’m here, and I want to be." 

Scorpius' words were drowned out by a gust of wind that rushed at them from the trees. 

They were standing on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. It was the third time overall for Albus Potter, which was an oddity in itself. His father had been famous for disregarding the 'forbidden' in the Forbidden Forest more than anyone. It was probably obvious that his children would take out the adjective of the name entirely, replacing it with the 'Often Visited Forest by Rebellious Students'. But Albus Potter was never into daring adventure and mysteries. He had grown to love different parts of Hogwarts, like the libraries and Slytherin dungeons that had passageways going all the way underneath the lake, a criss crossing labyrinth of cavernous tunnels with shimmering green light on their walls. The lakeside with Scorpius reading Quidditch magazines beside him. The Shrieking Shack the night they had blown the roof off, Scorpius wheezing with laughter and terror beside him. 

The Forest had frightened him, perhaps he was the only member of his family who had felt this way, instead of having a reckless disregard for what the place represented, and all that lurked within. Tonight more than any other time, it wasn't monsters Albus had been afraid of, it was something else. You could fight and duel and charm monsters, but not this. 

"I'm going in..." Albus said, "I'm going to find him."

"Al, what are you talking about? How do you know he’s here?"

Scorpius was concerned, and he felt his body locked and trapped from being able to do what he wanted. He wanted to reach out and hold Al, his hand or shoulder, him, just to comfort him and protect him from the towering dark trees, and the even taller darkness inside of him. But things between them were too complicated, too over, for him to be able to do that.

"I just know," Al whispered, a hint of desperation to his voice as his eyes found Scorpius.

Scorpius realized all the defensiveness was gone from Al’s face, just a bare raw expression of loss and hope etched in his features. 

It’s been a couple of days since Harry Potter disappeared on Halloween night. No one had seen or heard of him since. Numerous search parties were all around the country, his wife the most dangerous of them all, but no one had spotted him near the Hogwarts castle during those days. Scorpius didn’t understand. What had brought Al here. 

“I've a reason to believe he’s here tonight, has been for some time,” Albus said quietly. “There was an animal, a pearly white beast."

"A unicorn?"

"No not a unicorn. I thought it was a Patronus. A stag Patronus, and he was obsessed with it, and he would follow it, year after year on Halloween. He was in the forest that day we nearly got expelled for exploding the Shrieking Shack, when you first..." Albus's voice trailed off, and Scorpius felt the memories rush in at him like a truck, beautiful moments tinted with bitterness of how it all turned out. 

"The Patronus, or whoever was making it, was taunting him, luring him to something, and I think it might have been something dangerous." 

“Well I don’t like the sound of that. Who would want to do that? Plus, you have that manic look in your eyes. You should stay put, and we should send a search party after him." 

"No, you don't know my father, he's an idiot. He's the worst kind of reckless, and he went into the forest without my aunt Hermione, so it's very likely he will break his neck tonight or something. I know, I just know that he's out following this white stag demon. Please help me find him, I'm getting worried."

Scorpius was taken aback by the sudden sincerity, a deep need in Al’s voice he had rarely heard him speak with, even when they had been close. 

"Hey, Al, I'm here, I will go with you."

Albus let out a breath he was holding, and nodded his head slowly. And so they walked in

The forest floor was thick with leaves. Brambles and thorns grabbed at their robes, scratching their ankles. The ground was uneven, tree branches hidden under the fallen leaves tripped the two men walking. Scorpius cursed under his breath, yelping every now and then as a bat flew past his ears. It’s been some years since he’s been anywhere near the wild, and Malfoys generally preferred the comforts of heated indoors, no bats and screeching owls, thank you very much. 

"So what is this thing with your dad and a demon patronus stag again?" he asked, stumbling a bit as he tripped over an odd tree root.

"The night we blew off the Shrieking Shack roof..."

"Oh hell yes, best day of my life up until that point," Scorpius said, a warm smile lighting up his face. Al stopped abruptly to look back at him, and Scorpius walked right into him, their foreheads bumping against one another.  
It's been three years since their faces came so close, Albus noted, rubbing the painful bump protruding from his forehead. 

"Malfoys and their thick skulls," he muttered, but he couldn't help but smile. He still felt resentful toward Scorpius, for walking away those years ago. But being here with him felt a little bit like old times. Hearing him whine and complain as they made their way through the thick undergrowth of the forest drove the insane fear of losing his father out of his mind for just a second. 

"Anyway, he came to the school within seconds to scold me or congratulate me, with him you never knew. He was always so comically torn between scolding us for mischief and being amused and reminded of his own youth. He was there within seconds, and I thought it's just because he's my dad, Harry Potter, capable of anything, even Apparition within the Hogwarts walls. But it turned out he was already on the castle grounds that night. He came to McGonagall's office with his robes torn and stained with dirt. He seemed distracted, like he didn't even care I got in trouble, like he had been disturbed in doing something else, something more important...

"We walked through the grounds, and I could sense he wanted to reach out, that something was bothering him, he looked disheveled and erratic. That's when he told me of the Silver Stag. I could sense something was wrong with him, but I dismissed it as just an old dad getting a bit bored with life. Maybe I was too scared to admit something really was wrong with him. We went for a short walk around the Forest, he wanted to show me, to prove it to me, but after a while I got tired and just wanted to be done with it, so I convinced him to come back. Maybe if I had gone with him, I could’ve helped put his mind at ease.”

"Albus, you can’t blame yourself for this. First of all, your dad might be fine, safe somewhere completely different.” Even as he said it, Scorpius felt as though he had lied. He sensed some strange magic was afoot, and every logical thought he tried to have seemed to not value for much. How does one discern between a good gut feeling and downright paranoia? “Our fathers have always been a little weird in their own way. All that trauma from the war that never gets quite erased. They tend to grab at shadow demons and nightmares from time to time, you can’t do anything about it. Look, stop for a second.”

Scorpius grabbed Al’s hand, stopping their walking. Moonlight shimmered down upon them, and for a second the atmosphere of their surroundings looked almost tranquil. They were standing in a clearing, the trees behind them and a thicker wood in front of them. 

“Let’s go back, this is crazy. We need more of a plan if you really want to search the forest, more people.”

A rustle in the distance and an owl hoot. It seemed to suddenly get colder. Up until that point, because of the thickness of the trees, it wasn't cold, but the wind found them now, and chilled them to the bone. It howled loud above their heads. 

Scorpius was staring at Al and Al stared back. Scorpius' face was as pale as the moonlight still, dotted with a hint of blonde stubble and wrinkled around the edges of his eyes that weren't there before. Al wondered, just how much had he missed from Scorpius' life. All the moments and happy times and hard times they vowed to experience together, gone, merely etched in their aging faces. 

And still, here in this moment of such inner turmoil, Scorpius was with him. 

Their eyes were locked together in a gentle stare, and Albus was almost close to breathing again, letting out a sigh of relief, knowing things would be alright. They would go back to Hogsmeade to learn his father had resurfaced miraculously, that he had only been away on a secret business trip. They would have a warm Firewhiskey, and perhaps they could finally talk about why did they have to be so stubborn and-

Something flashed in Scorpius's eyes, and suddenly he was no longer looking at Al, but somewhere behind his shoulder. Al turned his head. It was as fast as a wisp of smoke from a dying candle, vanishing into thin air immediately. But he saw it, and he knew Scorpius saw it too. 

"That was it."

"Al, no, wait."

Albus waded through the high ferns, pushing through a sea of dark green, their lit up wands illuminating the shadows around them. The sounds of the dark forest intensified, a constant buzz of insects and rustling of leaves underfoot, blending into the dark symphony that filled Scorpius's ears and heart with dread. 

Before breaking into a run after Al, Scorpius fired a shower of red sparks into the night sky.

Scorpius felt himself growing afraid, for him as well as for Al, whose eyes gained on a manic glow as he rumbled on over the coiled tree roots.

Out ahead of them, a white light, just a little ball, like the end tip of a wand shone on. But the closer they go to it, the further away it seemed. Scorpius had no idea how deep into the forest they had ventured by this point. Hagrid's Hut and Hogsmeade must've been far away, as were all the lights. 

The night rushed past his ears, one flash of shadow after another, each more menacing than the last. A howl echoed through the night.They were chasing a phantom, so why was Scorpius so afraid? He heard Albus’ ragged breath in front of him as he struggled to keep up. 

Suddenly Al stopped in front of him, and once more Scorpius ran straight into him. As he regained his balanced, he looked up and all the colour drained his powdered pale face. 

A gorgeous white stag stood facing them. It was the most graceful thing Scorpius had ever seen in the real, natural world, but something about it was not quite right. It was its eyes. They were big and dark, like opals, but in them there was a void. It watched them and there was a hunger as well as wariness. Scorpius felt they weren’t invited to go any further, the Stag was protecting something. 

He hoofed at the ground, grunting almost, but no sound escaped it. Scorpius could still hear it in his head, the first warning. Its eyes blazed suddenly, not red like fire, but with an emptiness that haunted him all the more. 

Albus stood frozen beside him, holding out his wand, but his hand was trembling violently. The smell of death was in the air, a chill deeper than cold. An odd thought entered Scorpius’ head, that perhaps they were already too late.  
Albus made a daring step forward, trickles of sweat running down his face. 

The Stag lashed his head and bent down as if he were ready to charge. It grew in size, and Scorpius saw that it was no Patronus, it was a demon, a bad Apparition. Scorpius fumbled for his own wand, finally remembering he was a wizard. Both he and Albus stood, wands raised, across from the beast. 

Albus felt scared and fascinated at the same time. He had seen his father’s Patronus before, and this Stag looked exactly like this, but it was just an imitation, a caricature, its edges oddly sharp and antlers too pointy, ready to stab.  
Albus exchanged a look with Scorpius, and they both nodded. The Stag, now towering above them, a wall of blinding light, charged at them. 

“Expecto Patronum,” Albus yelled, not knowing what else to do. He thought of his dad, being always there, teaching him how to fly a broom, discussing with him anything Al felt like discussing, valuing his opinion at every age. He thought of Scorpius and the good times, the tenderness and fun and connection he could not and would not have with another person. 

Scorpius next to him whirled his wand in the air in a spiralling motion, uttering a sing-song incantation that sounded like the cry of a morning bird. 

At the same time, a great winged serpent rushed out of Al’s wand, and from behind them, a rush of immense strong wind almost knocked them over, a hurricane of magic that blew Al’s Patronus all the more strongly at the smoky stag-shaped demon. It relented for a moment, but the dragon roared silently, wind being its voice as it whistled loudly throughout the whole forest. 

And then, finally, the Stag took a step back and started shrinking. Al’s serpent whirled around it, growing larger in exchange, enveloping it with its immense wings. 

Al fell to his knees, grabbing onto Scorpius’ robes without realizing to. 

The noises of the night became muted and muffled in his ears, but feeling was now returning to his limbs. The Stag was dying, struggling in its flickering form as the smoke and air that made his form was dispersing. The Stag was now very small, almost entirely disintegrating. 

That’s when Scorpius saw the body, gasping in the process. It was as if his insides had momentarily disappeared. It took him a moment to notice Al turned out from his grip, running toward the limp figure lying on the ground, enveloped by the remnants of that strange white illusion.

Harry Potter was collapsed on the ground, wearing the same clothes he was last seen in. His eyes were open, staring at the sky, but they were empty, and Scorpius feared the worst as he approached them.

Albus was bending down over his father, almost blinded for the tears that obscured his view. It couldn’t be...but as he checked his pulse and looked into his eyes, he found out with a great relief that it wasn’t. There was still some life in the shadow of his father’s green eyes, and his body, even if ice cold, was still alive under his touch. 

“Scorpius help! He’s alive, he’s alive, but he needs help!”

Albus heard Scorpius running off, uttering spells into the night. He looked down at Harry, happy and dreading all the possibilities. He must’ve been in the forest for days now, and he looked deathly pale and frozen to the bone, trembling now, as if he had never known warmth. But he was alive. 

Harry was clutching a small stone in his hand, holding onto it as if for dear life. Albus could hear nearing voices, and saw Scorpius take off to meet whoever was coming to their aid. Albus took hold of Harry’s hand gently and tried to unclasp his numb fingers. 

“Dad, please, come on,” Albus breathed, and at that point Harry’s tired blank eyes found his. The green in them was pale, but seemed to suddenly shine with a new light that had been absent just moments ago. 

“Al,” he croaked, and he now appeared puzzled, taking in his surroundings. A wave of relief spread over Albus, as he saw the sharpness and intelligence replace the delirium in his father’s face. As Al squeezed Harry’s hand, he felt the hand let go of the stone. A deep breath escaped Harry’s lips and his body relaxed, as if released from coiling ropes. 

He laid his head back and closed his eyes gently. Albus was alarmed, but found out soon enough his father was merely sleeping. In no time, Hagrid tore through the trees, old and grey just like that old bloodhound he used to have, weeping at the sight of Harry. 

Ripping out smaller tree roots as he rushed towards them, he picked Harry up with immense gentleness. They were soon heading out of the forest and away from the clearing where death seemed to linger, wringing its greedy hands angrily. Harry Potter had escaped once more.

Albus watched them go, ready to follow. He peered inside the small stone, but there was no light, no glow inside. But it felt like staring into an abyss, or an echo of something, if you could stare into an echo at all. 

***

Hours later, Albus was sitting outside of the Hospital Wing, Scorpius by his side. 

"I know what this is," Albus said, breathless. He opened his palm to reveal the small gem. Scorpius stared at it, a little confused. “It was in his hands when we found him. It's the Stone. The Resurrection Stone.” Understanding dawned on Scorpius as he recalled many tales and legends of the third Deathly Hallow. He couldn’t understand why the stone would be in the forest, however. “He spoke of this to me only once,” Albus was saying carefully. “That night he defeated Voldemort, he walked into the forest willingly, holding onto the stone as his last connection to life when it was the other way around. His parents and friends spoke to him from beyond the grave, being there with him to the very end. He thought they were his final protection, but to me it had always sounded as if they were urging him on, like they wanted him to die. 

"I was afraid to tell him back then, but I always thought they weren't really his parents, it wasn't really Lupin nor Sirius. It was just the stone, wanting to claim its victim. But the Stone had no idea of the Horcrux element. And so it felt cheated, because my dad didn't die. And now, when he got close, it smelled him, and tricked him. The Stone is clever, it knows what we miss most in life.

"I just don't understand why it would have such power over him. He has us, he has me and mum and our whole family. Why would he still miss the dead?"

Scorpius didn’t understand everything that Al was talking about. He sensed there was a deeper level of family history he wasn’t privy to. But somehow he didn’t need all the details to take a guess at where Albus was coming from.

"He’s just a man, you know, an ordinary man with his own demons. And it nearly got you, too, Al. You said yourself that it's clever."

"Not clever enough.” Albus closed his palm, hiding the stone from view. He could feel it vibrate softly against his skin. He then looked up at Scorpius, his eyes wet but not quite so sad anymore. “I missed you the most, but you're here, and the Stone has no power over me."

The breath stopped and rattled like a caged animal somewhere inside of Scorpius. He felt like he was sixteen again, and he could almost smell the burnt smoke of his melted cauldron and the glowing pumpkin above them, mere moments before he and Al kissed. 

“Thank you for being with me tonight.”

Scorpius noticed dawn was tinting the horizon outside the windows. It was as if something dark, much like the previous night full of fear and regret, was leaving him too. 

“Always,” he said. 

Al got up to go inside the Hospital Wing to check on Harry. He turned around, a question lingering in his eyes. “I’ll be here,” Scorpius said with a smile, his pale powdered face illuminated by the rising sun.


End file.
